Design Guidelines & Requirements: Departmental Pages

Departmental I

These pages must display the official logo at the upper left of each page, make proper use of the WPI navigational aids, make use of a sidebar navigation system, and use WPI's official fonts as indicated below. Pages in this category must use the official WPI Cascading Style Sheet as a base; additions may be made to the style sheet to better accentuate the department's look and feel, but existing styles such as fonts may not be overridden using Cascading Style Sheets or FONT tags.

Each department will choose a main color and possibly an accent color from the WPI supporting color palette. When site is part of a larger grouping of sites, a department's color should be unique within that grouping.

Homepage Layout

In the preferred layout, the menu appears in a sidebar on the left with a title bar featuring the WPI logo at left and the department name at right across the top. An open content area to the right of the menu is an appropriate space for news, updates, etc. in a serif font. Example: Academic Technology Center. Other layouts will be considered on an individual basis and implemented as appropriate to the needs of each department.

Each department's title graphic and sidebar may feature a unique photo and/or pattern, in addition to a color from the WPI color palette. In larger sites, a photo on the title bar may change from section to section, and the title graphic may be changed to allow section titles to appear, while the name of the department appears just above it in all caps in Futura (Note: the ALT text should remain in lowercase).

Menu Guidelines

Futura is the required font for main menu text on all sites and for title graphics on IT Division and Athletics sites, while Garamond Italic Semi-Bold is to be used for title graphics for all Academic Departments. For expanding menus, a sans serif font (Arial, Helvetica) is used.

The color of menu text must be either the official WPI red or white on a red button/background. Main menu items will be graphical, with text-based submenus. Menu items should be consistent between departments where applicable but priority is given to the needs of the site structure.

Each academic department's menu should include "About WPI", a main menu item linking to a page within the department site containing text written by the Marketing Group about the university.

Second Level Page Layout

Beyond the homepage level, all pages in a department site must have a consistent look and feel - this is accomplished by using the same template code on all pages. The template code should feature a sidebar menu on the left and title graphic on top.

In general, body text should be displayed in a serif font (Times New Roman) and captions, expanding menu text, and footer information is displayed in a sans serif font (Arial, Helvetica).

Departments must consult with the WPI Web Development Office on development of these pages.

Departmental II